Hasbro to include Rey in 'Star Wars' Monopoly set after complaint

FILE- This undated file photo provided by Disney shows Daisey Ridley as Rey, left, and John Boyega as Finn, in a scene from the film, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." (Disney/Lucasfilm via AP, File)

The “Star Wars” edition of Monopoly will now add a game piece featured the lead female character Rey after a complaint from an 8-year-old girl who wrote the game maker Hasbro about the omission and telling them “girls matter.”

Carrie Goldman, of Evanston, Illinois, posted a letter on Twitter this week written by her daughter, asking why Hasbro left out Rey when she’s a main character of the new installment of the “Star Wars” saga, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

The girl started off the letter asking why the company would exclude the heroine of the story.

"Without her THERE IS NO FORCE AWAKENS! It awakens in her! And without her, the bad guys would have won! Besides, boys and girls need to see that women can be as strong as men!" she wrote. "Girls matter!"

The original game includes just four pieces, all modeled on male characters: Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Finn and Kylo Ren. The decision to exclude Rey led to a social media debate, with many fans tweeting under the hashtag #WheresRey.

Golman is an author who frequently opines about toys and gender issues. She included the hashtag as she tweeted a picture of her daughter’s letter to Hasbro.

Hasbro responded in a tweet of its own two days later.

"We love your passion for Rey and are happy to share that we are including her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game, available later this year," it said.

Julie Duffy, a spokeswoman for the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company, said Wednesday that it did not include Rey in the game to avoid revealing a key plot line. The game was released in September, months before the movie was released, though Goldman noted that at the time it was well-known that Rey would be a central character.

Goldman said the response to Annie Rose's letter shows she struck a nerve, and people are ready for a change.

"A huge number of the messages I'm getting are from men. This is not a women's issue. It's about representing the hero of this film," she said.

Duffy said anyone who already bought a Rey-less game can contact Hasbro when the updated game comes out and request their own Rey token.

“The Force Awakens” raked in $88.3 million over New Year’s weekend, becoming the highest domestic grossing film of all time totaling $740.3 million in just 19 days. The saga closes in on the all-time worldwide record set by Avatar with $760.5 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.